Kickstarter

Just a few days ago I was sad and dejected. That word "unsuccessful" loomed large in my vision. But with 94 people pledging over $4,000, how could that be anything but success? I just did my math wrong. People are worth more than money and the connections I've made with you are a treasure. 

The re-launched, re-vamped, re-worked version of World Song is going strong and nearly done. We're at 86% funding with only $540 needed to hit the goal. And the current number of backers over there is only up to 55 people. This update is reaching 94 people who pledged to the first round. 

That tells me a few things:

• We have new supporters for the book that we didn't have before. 
• Every pledge counts - especially the $5, $10 and $25 pledges.
• There's (at least) 39 more people who believe in this book and are excited to make history. 

I'm posting this over on the active project as well, but I'll tell you first. If this project is funded by the end of the day Sunday (I'll count that as 11:59pm Pacific time) then 5% of all book profits until the end of 2012 will be donated to My Voice Music, a Portland non-profit that "engages marginalized youth in music and performance in order to promote self-esteem, social skills and emotional expression."

Help us support this worthy charity and bring music into more lives. 

Okay, that phoenix bit might be too dramatic. Sorry. I'm excited. 

So, we didn't hit the goal of $7,000, but I saw a lot of amazing support that took us past $4,000. And, what's more, I made connections with amazing musicians, artists and editors who have offered to help with the project (some of them at a discount). So all is not lost. The connections made were worth as much or more than we were short on the project. 

So, now I'm running another, shorter project. You can find it by clicking here. 

If you're willing to support at the same level you did before, we can wrap this up and I can get to writing! 

This new one is only open for 7 days, so we need to be quick about it. 

Thank you again for your encouragement, generosity and support. I'm blessed to have such a fantastic group surrounding me. 

James

You are beyond belief amazing people. I'm indebted to each of you for the outpouring of support, not just financially, but through encouragement. I'm still hoping for an angel (and sending out emails and tweets to potential people) so that this thing will be funded by 7:22am PDT tomorrow. 

But why did you set your goal so high?

Because I want to do it right. I want the music, the artwork and the words to be perfect. And all that takes money to do well. 

What if it's not funded? What will you do?

I'll take a break for a while. This is exhausting. But then I'll get back to writing. This book will live. Noah's book will exist. The music will be created. But it may take longer. 

Will you run this again with a lower goal?

Maybe? Yes? I think so? 

I've been overwhelmed by your support and I don't want that to go for nothing. But I also realize that I've been a little annoying online with all my promoting. I want to give my friends (and especially my friends who aren't interested in this) a chance to not be annoyed with me before I start up again. 

Also I want to support other people doing good things. I don't want to hog all the attention when there are other worthy projects to consider. 

What's with all the meme pictures?

I've just been having fun promoting the project. I thought it would be funny to call back some popular memes from days gone by. I've been posting them to Facebook and Twitter, but I'll put them here for you to enjoy too. 

Thank you for everything. You give me hope. 

$30 Level - The PDF, eBook, MP3s, print copy plus... A postcard print of the commissioned cover art (not the mock-up you see, but fresh, new art).

$75 Level - The PDF, eBook, MP3s, signed copy of the book plus... A signed 8x10 print of the cover art commissioned for the book (not the mock-up picture used for the campaign, but fresh, professional artwork).

$1,000 - The PDF, eBook, MP3 recording, children's book, place in the acknowledgments, chance to critique a pre-release copy, three signed copies of the book, plus... You're written into the story. You choose either your name or a character designed to resemble you is written into the existing story.

For whatever reason, it was less stressful when the numbers only changed once a day. Now Kickstarter is counting down the individual hours to the end of the campaign. 

I'm reaching out to everyone I can think of (and find an email or Twitter address for) to see if they'll support and share this project. Who am I missing? Who can you think of that needs to hear about this? 

So far I've had three different composers contact me about creating the music to go with the book. I have a couple of cover artists I've talked to and I'm working on finding a good editor for the text. Things are coming together nicely. 

Now we just need to finish strong and get the word out. There's only a few hours left.